recipe

2 grains, 1 fruit, 1 fat, 1 protein

As promised, I am sharing the scone recipe I tried today! I found the recipe on the Fage yogurt website, and it was a total hit!

“THIS IS THE BEST SCONE I’VE EVER HAD….PERFECT!” – Sergei (There you have it folks, this recipe is better than the boxed and store bought scones we’ve tried!)

Instead of using cranberries I used dried cherries and golden raisins. On the next batch I added a cup of oats and made oatmeal raisin scones. The combinations are endless so feel free to make your own and share what you tried!

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine first four ingredients in one bowl (dry), and the sugar, yogurt, egg, butter, and zest in a separate bowl (wet). Add the wet mixture to the dry and fold in the dried cherries. Make a circular shape with the dough and cut into 8 pieces. Bake scones with at least an inch of space between them for ~15 minutes.

So yesterday we took a trip to Trader Joe’s. Obviously this ended with us buying a plethora of new TJ products to try. Then I figured, why not share our opinions? Anyways, after our trip to the store we decided to try out 3 of the products we purchased: the Shrimp Gyoza, Vegetable Gyoza, and Tom Yam Soup.

1) Trader Joe’s Thai Shrimp Gyoza

We cooked half of a bag of these along with half a bag of vegetable gyoza, and topped it with dumpling sauce. They were a lot larger than I had expected and a lot more delicious! The shrimp gave these gyoza a bit more texture, and you can actually see the bits of shrimp. Would we buy this again? Yes!

2) Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza (Vegetarian/Vegan)

These looked (and tasted) a lot like the shrimp gyoza. They were large, filling, and delicious! Everyone agreed the vegetable gyoza were just as good as the shrimp gyoza. The only difference is that you don’t get the little chunks of shrimp, but overall the taste is pretty similar. I like that we put half and half into the mixture, and we will definitely be purchasing more of TJ’s gyoza in the future for a quick and easy meal!

3) Trader Joe’s Tom Yam Soup (Vegetarian/Vegan) &

This one is a hit or miss. For me, I found it too acidic. It tasted like someone had added some lemon/lime juice to the top before I took a bite. With that being said, others loved this. Apparently, Tom Yam is supposed to be a little acidic and served atop rice (something we did not do). Maybe I would have liked it more had I served it on rice. I should also note that this is a single serve soup. We all only had a couple of spoonfuls, but now we know who would eat it and who wouldn’t haha! I personally would not buy this again, but I’m sure others in the family will.

Hope these were helpful! I will be posting more product reviews as we try out the rest of the groceries. But in the meantime:

1 fat, 1 fruit, 1 grain, 1/2 protein

Ok, I know it’s spring and traditionally pumpkin pie is served in the fall. But, fall was 6 months ago and I can’t possibly wait another 6 before eating this again! So I made up this excuse for the family as to why I have to make pumpkin pie instead of apple, peach, berry, etc:

Pumpkin pie will help us watch the spring flowers bloom, while cleansing our bodies from the winter weather.

I use this excuse because pumpkin is high in vitamin A, cancer fighting beta-carotene, and fiber! Not to mention it has been said to help keep the skin wrinkle free, so bring on the sun!

If your family likes pumpkin year round (like me, but unlike my family) just make it because it tastes good.

>> The Crust: Combine flours, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Separately mix the oil, soy milk and lemon juice. Add the wet and dry ingredients. If it is too dry, add some water. Refrigerate the dough for an hour if you can, otherwise roll it out and line a 9 inch pie pan. Crimp the edges and preheat the oven to 425F while you prepare the filling.

The Filling: Mix all the filling ingredients together until smooth. Pour over the unbaked crust and smooth the top. Bake for 10 mins and then reduce the oven to 350F. Bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, until the filling has set. Let the pie cool, and then refrigerate overnight or at least 3 hrs.

Exchange counts are for 1/8th of the pie. If you’re wondering where the fruit comes from, it’s the sugar in the pie. Ignore this if you need actual fruit in your diet, and not just the sugar.

UCLA studies show a chemical found in turmeric reduces risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Curry spices can help ward off the common cold by triggering the body to produce extra mucus and reduce inflammation in nasal passages.

1 tsp vegetable oil [1 fat]

1/2 sweet potato, chopped [1 grain]

2 baby bok choy, chopped [1/2 vegetable]

1/2 japanese eggplant, chopped [1/2 vegetable]

1/2 cup kidney beans [1 grain, 1 protein]

1 shallot

1/2 tbsp red curry paste

1 tbsp plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup coconut water

1/2 tsp cornstarch

chili powder and ground ginger

>> Heat oil in a skillet and sauté the sweet potato. In a separate bowl, combine coconut water, cornstarch, yogurt, and red curry paste. Once the potato gets some color, add the bok choy and eggplant. After about a minute, add the beans and curry mixture. Reduce to a simmer. Add a few shakes of chili powder and ground ginger. Let simmer about 3 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked through. Top with chopped shallot. Serve over rice, with naan, or enjoy as is.

1 fat, 2 vegetables

Last week I wrote about a cabbage stir fry I made with button mushrooms. Today the ingredients became even more asian. I incorporated chinese cabbage (bok choy), shiitake mushrooms, and japanese eggplants.

I love cooking with japanese eggplants and baby bok choy because their smaller size gives them so much more flavor!

Bok Choy fun facts:

One cup of bok choy gives you about 100% of your daily vitamin A needs, and about 66% of your daily vitamin C.

The word bok choy originated from the Chinese word for “soup spoon” because of the shape of its leaves.

Japanese Eggplants:

Uncooked eggplants may contain a toxin called solanine that inhibits calcium absorption.

Traditionally, raw eggplants have been used to treat scorpion bites and help those suffering from frostbite.

1 scallion

1 japanese eggplant

5 baby bok choy

5 shiitake mushrooms

2 tsp minced ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp tamari/soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp oil

>>Sauté chopped scallion and ginger in oil. Add vegetables. Once browned add tamari, rice vinegar, and ginger. Serve over rice and top with sesame seeds and fresh scallions.

1/2 fat, 1 grain

Apparently yesterday was national peanut butter and jelly day. How could I miss such a holiday?! Well, since I eat peanut butter and jelly every day (in one way or another) I wasn’t too surprised when I found myself making these PB&J bars anyways.

What I actually did was use up ALL the ‘leftover’ ingredients I could find. This includes: half a frozen pear from this recipe, the rest of the blueberry muesli from this recipe, and some blueberry jam that’s been sitting in our pantry untouched.

Here’s the whole bar fresh from the oven:

Be sure to read the substitution notes. As I said, I was trying to use up old ingredients but you can use more generic pantry staples.

And now cut into bite size pieces:

1 1/2 cups Trader Joes Blueberry Muesli*

1/4 cup pear sauce**

1/3 cup jam

1 egg

2.5 tbsp peanut butter

>> Preheat oven to 350F. Add peanut butter, pear sauce, and beaten egg to the muesli. Line a 8×4 loaf pan with tin foil for easy removal. Press about 3/4 of mixture into the pan firmly. Spread jam on top. Firmly press remaining mixture bits on top. Bake for about 20 minutes. Let cool before cutting into 8 bars.

*Alt. use 1 1/2 cups oats + 1/4 cup dried blueberries or raisins

**I made this by placing 1/2 chopped frozen pear in a pan with some water, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and letting simmer until soft. Then I blended into a puree. Alt. use 1/4 cup applesauce or other fruit butter.

2.5 fats, 1 fruit, 2 grains, 3 proteins, 2 vegetables

Happy April! I’m so excited to share this recipe with you guys; it’s juicy, tangy, naturally sweet and salty.

But let me back track a little. Over the winter I bought a 4 lb bag of frozen pineapple chunks from Costco. I’m almost at the end, but still have a little left. I like to eat them right from the freezer, but decided to switch things up and incorporate them into my stir fry. Do you have any pineapple recipes to share for the last of my bag?

Fun Fast Facts:

Pineapple has very good anti inflammatory benefits because of its enzyme bromelain.

Pineapple grows as a result of of many flowers whose flowerets have joined around the core.

>> Combine all ingredients for the sauce, except cornstarch, in a dish. Dry tofu with a paper towel and dice it into a bowl. Cover with 2 tbsp. of sauce and set aside to marinade about 5-10 mins. Add cornstarch to the remaining sauce and mix until smooth. Heat skillet with coconut oil and sauté onions. Add the tofu until it has browned. Add vegetables and cook 2 minutes. Add the brown rice and egg whites. Cook an additional 2 minutes and serve. Garnish with scallions, cilantro, and cashews.

*To get pineapple juice, I simple microwaved the frozen pineapple chunks for about 30 seconds.

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Welcome

FeedMeColor is your meal plan go to! In February 2014 I was placed on a meal plan. It was stressful, confusing, and I needed help. I created FeedMeColor to create recipes and meal ideas for those who are following a meal exchange program, counting carbs, or need help with meal planning.

Meal plans are followed for a number of reasons including illness and weight management. In this program, you are allowed a daily amount of each food group. For example, breakfast could be: 3 Grains, 3 Proteins, 3 Fruits, 3 Fats, 1 Dairy.

"Meals" are meant to give inspiration on what a colorful, balanced meal looks like. They are based off of my exchange plan but can be easily edited to fit yours!

"Recipes by Group" helps you fill in the gaps in your meal plan. For example, if you are missing 1 protein from your meal, click the protein tab under Recipes by Group.

"Recipes by Carb Count" sorts recipes by the number of grain exchanges it has. I originally created this option for diabetics, but found it is helpful for other readers too.